Chronicle Editor
Raymond Jaravaza/Zibusiso Moyo
IT’S often said that opportunity knocks once on every man’s door but it is the bravest and most determined man that grabs the opportunity with both hands and makes the most out of it to succeed.
When an international beverages company was looking for a local partner to distribute its product in Zimbabwe, Butholezwe Mkhwananzi — a Gwanda-born and bred entrepreneur and his business partners took the bull by the horns.
Kiss cider, an international brand with a footprint in Australia and New Zealand was looking into penetrating the African market. Being a virtually unknown product on the Zimbabwe market came with its own challenges but the four entrepreneurs were willing to take the risk.
“Like any other business venture, success is not always guaranteed but all the same, we sat down and came up with a business proposal that we sent to the manufacturers of Kiss ciders for consideration.
“We got the nod and we started distributing Kiss ciders in November last year, first in small shops around Bulawayo and gradually stocking in chain supermarkets such as Choppies, Pick n Pay and Spar,” Kiss Zimbabwe distributors’ co-director Butholezwe Mkhwananzi said.
He said the distribution was later extended to local entertainment spots like Hartsfield Leisure Centre as well as nightclubs.
Distributing an international brand that is sold in more than 40 countries, Mkhwananzi said, comes with its own set of challenges.
“The brand is successfully exported to more than 40 countries around the world, including Germany, Ireland, France and the USA so we are also expected to emulate other distributors who have set the bar very high.
“At the moment, we’re importing the cider from Lithuania and distributing it in Bulawayo, Victoria Falls and Harare and as part of our three-year strategic plan, we want to see Kiss ciders in shelves in major supermarkets across the country,” he said.
Mkwananzi said they are aware that the success of Kiss Zimbabwe hinges on robust and innovative marketing initiatives hence they were using music videos to market their product.
Artistes who have benefited so far are MJ Sings, Kyla Blac, Murphy Cubic and Mimie Tarukwana.
“We sponsor a YouTube music show called Pillow Sessions that features emerging Bulawayo artistes that are keen on making their mark on the local show business industry.
“Youths are part of our target market so brand visibility in music video shows is very important to us.
“In future, we plan to fully sponsor videos of young artistes as a way of giving back to the communities that we operate in,” said Mkwananzi.
Like any other alcoholic beverage, Kiss ciders are not for sale to persons under the age of 18 years.
Mkwananzi said as a company they were in a small way addressing the challenge of unemployment in the country.
“We are still a small company trying to find its feet in the market hence we have a small staff complement of 14 workers. We are, however, very confident that as we expand we will increase the number to include drivers and assistants that will take the product to different corners of the country,” he said.
Mkwananzi said what was encouraging was that the product was well received by Zimbabweans who are known for their appetite for good quality products.
Online Reporter